Seedlings: Music in the Seedlings Classroom
At the start of each morning we sing songs in the Seedlings classroom. As children come down the stairs from the playground we encourage the group to come together for circle. Kate starts to sing,“Everyone come get a seat on a square, seat on a square, seat on a square. It’s time to sing some songs.” This tune lets all the children know that we are now sitting at circle. Once the friends are seated we sing“Hello everybody, yes indeed” to acknowledge the start of the day.
A “Good Morning” song with names is used to greet friends and allow the group to remember the names of everyone. The children will smile when their name is called out and are happy to be remembering the names of friends.
When we sing “Willabee, Wallabee Woo” we pass around a soft stuffed elephant. Each child gets a turn holding the elephant and passing it on to the next friend. In this song we add in a child’s name with each verse. “Willabee, wallabee, woo. An elephant sat on you. Willabee, Wallabee we. An elephant sat on me. Willabee, willabee, Wane, an elephant sat on Jane.....” and so on. Children love this song and enjoy passing the elephant around and take turns putting it on their heads.
Singing together is one of the ways that we start to build community in the Seedlings classroom. Name songs and silly songs help us to get to know one another and feel playful with each other.
